Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) Coming in July 9 - 13:
Award Presentation: Extraordinary Dedication in Higher Education Award Recipient Sharon Diaz Recognized for 45 Years of Leadership
June 26, 2018 – CSHE is pleased to share some of the highlights from the upcoming Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) coming up in July. UC Berkeley’s ELA program is designed for individuals from all academic backgrounds who are interested in preparing themselves for appointments to executive positions such as dean, vice president, provost, president, and chancellor. It offers a five-day intensive training experience and is guided by a select faculty team, comprised of over 25 senior-level higher education executives.
Two hundred seventy-two fellows have graduated from this program since the first Executive Leadership Academy in 2011. Many of whom have applied the insights from their Academy experience to their own career development and to the benefit of their institutions. This year’s class of 49 Fellows include 25 women and 24 men from a variety of academic backgrounds in positions as emerging executives, executives, and senior executive levels and traveling from different parts of the country and the world.
One noteworthy guest that will be in attendance for the week-long program includes LaMont Jones, Jr. LaMont Jones, Jr. is an award-winning veteran journalist who is Senior Editor at Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. He will be attending ELA to assist us in developing media awareness of the success of this program.
At the ELA’s Graduation Dinner, Sharon Clark Diaz, President of Samuel Merritt University (SMU), will be recognized for her 45 years of leadership and service to the university. Goldman School of Public Policy Dean Henry Brady noted of Diaz’s achievement, “Sharon Clark Diaz is truly a remarkable leader. While the average college president has a tenure of fewer than seven years, in 36 years as president of Samuel Merritt University she transformed it from a hospital-based diploma school of nursing into a health sciences university offering five disciplines and a mix of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Her record is an extraordinary one of innovation and leadership."
Diaz’s recognition will be followed by a keynote presentation by Dr. Nikhil Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of GSVlabs and Former Chief Business and Content Officer at Coursera – the world’s largest higher education platform, with a focus on entrepreneurial leadership in higher education. Dr. Sinha is a leading international expert on the information and communication technology industries and has extensive experience as an academician and corporate executive.
The Executive Leadership Academy enables executive administrators to lead in a dynamic and increasingly multicultural and multinational environment. Founder and Executive Director of the ELA, Josefina Castillo Baltodano, feels this year’s outstanding program faculty and fellow’s composition “are uniquely balanced and a testament to the program’s commitment of bringing diversity theory into practice.”
For more information about the Executive Leadership Academy, contact Brandy Saldaña at (510) 642-5040 or cshe@berkeley.edu.